Tattoos - why I got mine, and stereotypes.

So, what do you guys think of tattoos on the opposite sex? The same sex?

My girlfriend has a master's degree in art, and she's training to become a licensed tattoo artist. Basically, she has to put in 1000+ hours of work under a licensed professional. (eg. a tattoo artist)

I have one, it's an armband, depicting a vine on my upper bicep. Underneath is the latin word for "sister". (You can see part of it in my profile picture.) It's my lesbian pride tattoo - something that's less obvious - I'm not walking around with a rainbow triangle or even a labrys (double ended axe, depicting femininity). I'm planning to get another one, probably in color, of the Full Metal Alchemist ouroboros tattoo. It will probably be modified so it looks less like a ouroboros with a Star of David in the middle.

My girlfriend is getting some original art that she drew herself as a huge back piece. It will be pretty provokative, and look like retro tattoo art. Of course, it's in color, and simple looking.

** Yeah, tattoos don't hurt that much. I ended up eating a bag of candy and drinking a shit load of water before I ended up in the chair. It took about 30 - 40 minutes to do mine, including the set up. Went to McDonald's after for a burger - then my arm started burning. Couldn't lift it two inches away from the table. The pain went away, and basically was okay at that point.

I guess I'm saying that people are surprised that I actually have a tattoo. And not something cliche, like a rose or a tribal band. It's just weirdness...and I generally don't bare my arms in public. Stereotypes of people with tattoos is quite cliche, and I'm afraid I do it as well - I told my girlfriend that if she gets the "sleeves" (tattoos covering the entire arm) I will be very upset with her.

Comments

emigre
Personally I don't really care for tatoos, it's not really my thing. Howevr if done right, they can very alluring.

PS random note but you might want to switch to AKAIO. For some reason I just had to say that.
 
astrangeone
Thanks, I just did a week ago. Got sick of things not loading properly.

Also, if I had known about YS menu for the R4, I wouldn't have sold mine on fleabay.
 
Guild McCommunist
The thing with the tats is that eventually you can regret it. I mean, with something a little less clear-cut like your armband one, you probably won't regret it, but if you tattoo'd your girlfriend's name on it and then you break up eventually, that's a problem. Or if there's something you like at the time (like Full Metal Alchemist) and realize that it was completely dweeby later, you'll practically give up an arm and a leg to get it off.

I'd personally want a tattoo of Daffy Duck mowing my pubes. GUESS THE MOVIE REFERENCE GAIS!

Nowadays there aren't too many stereotypes about tattoos. Generally tattoos are just a side of a stereotype. Like if you see a guy with a mohawk and a denim vest with his hardcore lookin' jeans, you'll already get the impression you need without looking at the tats. And there's lots of people who get tattoos nowadays. It's no longer something that seems grouped with one group of people or the other.
 
Blaze163
Some of the tattoos I've seen are incredible. Examples:

- My old man had a blue dragon curled all the way down his arm from when he was about my age. It's faded at this point but it's still better than most.
- My friend Hayley has big angel wings on her shoulders. They cost her a fortune and took ages, but they look incredible. When we went swimming a couple of years ago some poor little girl actually thought Hayley was a real angel after seeing her 'wings'.
- I saw a guy on Screwattack.com who had the iconic Ryu and Ken 'double hadouken' scene tattood on his arm in full colour, it looked unbelievable.

But I've also seen some really lame ones in my time as well.

- My now thankfully ex girlfriend's mum has about 15 tattoos, all boring chavvy cliches like barbed wire. She also has about 12 piercings. She looks terrible.
- My older brother has a tattoo modelled after our dad's dragon, but it didn't turn out so well 'cause he sunk about a tenth of the money he should have into the project.
- A kid I knew in college tried to get a tattoo but he couldn't stand the pain and never finished it, so now it's just a black circle on his arm. He could at least have made it into a smiley face or something...

I'm all for tattoos, but only if you're prepared to come up with something special and put some real time into it.
 
Elritha
Some of them can look nice if done properly. Personally I'd never get a tattoo on my own body. It's pretty much permanent and over time will fade. I'm happy enough without decorating my body with art/graffiti. :)
 
astrangeone
[quote name='Guild McCommunist' post='2457261' date='Dec 13 2009, 01:44 PM']The thing with the tats is that eventually you can regret it. I mean, with something a little less clear-cut like your armband one, you probably won't regret it, but if you tattoo'd your girlfriend's name on it and then you break up eventually, that's a problem. Or if there's something you like at the time (like Full Metal Alchemist) and realize that it was completely dweeby later, you'll practically give up an arm and a leg to get it off.

I'd personally want a tattoo of Daffy Duck mowing my pubes. GUESS THE MOVIE REFERENCE GAIS!

Nowadays there aren't too many stereotypes about tattoos. Generally tattoos are just a side of a stereotype. Like if you see a guy with a mohawk and a denim vest with his hardcore lookin' jeans, you'll already get the impression you need without looking at the tats. And there's lots of people who get tattoos nowadays. It's no longer something that seems grouped with one group of people or the other.[/quote]

I get that. I like FMA which is why I'm going to alter it, it just basically means that I like the idea behind it -> you have to give up something of equal value to gain something.

I will never get something like names as a tattoo, and I'm going to talk to my gf to not allow herself to do them.
 
beamquaker
i have a wolf on my shoulder blade . i have a tribal pattern with both my sons names on my left upper arm . on both wrists i have chinese symbols representing my sons names . my wifes name on my chest . another chinese symbol on my neck saying fire which is suppose to be funny as i have flaming red hair. tattoo's are cool but there for me and my visible ones are small and subtle . i have no twatoos as i am happy within myself. i got mine cause im proud of my sons and i love my wife .
 
Prophet
The day I turned 18, I went and got a tattoo. I wouldn't say I regret it, but I do wish I had waited and given it more thought. I've never been a huge Christian or very fond of any organized religion, but I have always held Jesus in high regard. So it was in that spirit that I decided to get a cross. I meant it to be a self reminder of man at his best. It wasn't until later that I realized how the tattoo might appear to others; assumed to be a symbol of my religious affiliation or worst proof of my supposed indoctrination. But I have since come to terms with the fact that some people will undoubtedly judge a book by it's cover. I simply allow them their ignorance and find solace in the "Fuck'em" philosophy.
 
BeatriceTheGolde
I saw my sister's tramp stamp when I was 12. I was shocked. She was going to school for medicine, and I thought she was the good girl. Oh how wrong I was.

My personal opinion? I like people plain, but won't mind the odd names or characters or small pictures. Whole sleeves and stuff like that turn me off faster than dead people.
 
Hop2089
The only reason I don't get one is that it will look ugly when you get to be 40 and above and tattoo removal is pretty expensive at $1000-$3000 a tattoo. Although I will not age as much as the average person, still I will eventually look old and that tattoo would look ugly when the time comes.
 
Uzumakijl
[quote name='astrangeone' post='2457213' date='Dec 13 2009, 03:25 PM'][...]
I guess I'm saying that people are surprised that I actually have a tattoo. And not something cliche, like a rose or a tribal band. It's just weirdness...and I generally don't bare my arms in public. Stereotypes of people with tattoos is quite cliche, and [...][/quote]

You want to be original? And you're getting an ouroboros tattoo?. That's so original.

No need to tell that was sarcasm i guess.
 
astrangeone
[quote name='Uzumakijl' post='2457992' date='Dec 13 2009, 07:31 PM'][quote name='astrangeone' post='2457213' date='Dec 13 2009, 03:25 PM'][...]
I guess I'm saying that people are surprised that I actually have a tattoo. And not something cliche, like a rose or a tribal band. It's just weirdness...and I generally don't bare my arms in public. Stereotypes of people with tattoos is quite cliche, and [...][/quote]

You want to be original? And you're getting an ouroboros tattoo?. That's so original.

No need to tell that was sarcasm i guess.
[/quote]


It's an important concept for me. Ouroboros represent karma, life, and love. And the fact that you have to give up something in order to gain. My tattoos are for myself.
 
Raikiri
uhmm.. yeah tattoos do fade over time but there's always refilling them...

as for tattoos on the opposite sex? i like them as long as they're not to extravagant.. my girlfriend has 3 of them which look awesome, well at least two of em anyways :P, and i have another friend who has one she just expanded a few days ago and that looks awesome as well..

and i have a male friend who has a shitload of tattoos including a few that almost cover one of his arms, but heh he's just the type for it and it looks good on him

as for me, i'm designing one myself but can't quite seem to work it out =) will look awesome when its finished though
 
DjoeN
I like tatoo's, but i don't have them myself.

Myself i don't have one and prolly never will, cause i don't have the need to have one. (Got enough burn tattoos from working in the kitchen in the past and i once felt in a frying pan with my whole right arm (but that's another story))

I do watch alot to LA Ink and i'm amazed everytime how beautifull some tattoos are (and how ugly some others are)
Respect to all those tattoo artists. If done properly and in the right place, it can be a beautifull masterpiece for life.

(I had a few gf's with huge tattoo's, never had a problem with it, it's the inside that counts not the outside, even if it has tattoo's.)
 

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